Save your stock pipes (bit of a rant)

[Fathertork]

Hey Bingo, I knew you would find this one

[blues2cruise]

Bingo I agree 100% with everything you said. I kept the stock pipes on my bike because I like the quiet.

[Gummiente]

Flame suit on.

No need for one in here, we all get along.

Since posting this thread I have changed bikes, my '07 Road Glide has stock pipes and I like the sound of them... no need to change them at all.

[Fathertork]

I see the 07 mufflers are straight thru Gimme. How much louder are they?
Sound pretty much like the older stock mufflers at idle, but I imagine a little sweater when you get on it, a bit.
Comments-Thanks

[Gummiente]

I see the 07 mufflers are straight thru Gimme. How much louder are they?
Sound pretty much like the older stock mufflers at idle, but I imagine a little sweater when you get on it, a bit.
Comments-Thanks

To be honest, I haven't looked through them yet but they are louder than the '06 stock pipes. BUT - they are not as loud as the Screaming Eagle pipes. If you've ever heard the "Touring" mufflers Harley sold a few years back, the '07 is comparable to those. And, yes, there's a sweet rumble when I crank the throttle.

I read an article about the new engine and it said that because of the massive re-design of the internals they were able to significantly reduce the noise level below the mandated 87db limit. So, Harley opened up the pipes a bit to bring back the sound and they still meet all '07 emission and noise limits.

[dadio]

I have heard that the 07s have a problem w/ overheating and new pipes may be needed. With that in mind I'll say I'm kinda partial to quiter pipes cause I like to turn on the stereo and rock and roll down the road.

[crazy5dave]

The "overheating" is not of the bike. It is of the RUB yuppies scum riding them. Most new complaints ive heard of are from Ultras with now bigger motors(larger heat generators)and the lower body work is blocking cooling and this then heats up their legs. They say its really bad when they start being poseurs, sorry parading. NO $#!T. no air flow, no cooling. its air cooled! New pipes will not help this matter. On the pipes issue, the stockers are a little to quite for me, but screaming eagle/V&H level is fine. As an HD mechanic ive heard all kinds of pipe and some are just vulgarly loud. Load pipes dont save lives. Load pipes lose hearing.

[MicheleZ]

This thread hits a nerve for me, as I (loudly ) oppose loud pipes. My peeves are;

1. "Loud pipes save lives" If you are counting on loud pipes to do your defensive driving for you, you are already a statistic waiting to be counted.

2. Somebody blipping the throttle at an intersection / parkinglot / everywhere to announce his pipe purchase. If the bike can't idle without cracking the wick all the time, get it fixed.

3. Riding beside someone on a poker / charity / whatever run who likes to hammer the throttle so he and everyone else can hear the roar. May sound OK to the rider in front of the exhaust tip, but if I am right beside it, it literaly hurts my ears.

4. "It's my right to have loud pipes" What about my right to sit somewhere and chat with my friends without being interupted by a noisy exhaust? If you want to hear loud engines, go to the races. How many have seen the look of fear on a childs face when they go to start their bike because the child thinks the bike will hurt thier ears? I have. More than once. I am not into scaring kids, and this is not the way to promote our hobby / passion.

Many of the freinds I ride with have modified exhaust, but they are not using the dB to tell the neighbourhood that 'it's time to ride', they are very conservative with the throttle and know when it's 'the right time' to get on it. As always, a few will alter the rules for everyone, and I can't blame John Q for being upset.

I hope I haven't stepped on any toes here, but this is front and center on my list of Hot Topics!

Flame suit on.

</rant>

+1

I was outside a restaurant one time - sunny afternoon and nice. Right across from this restaurant is one of those Harley hopping bars. You know the kind, where all the drunks with Harleys go on a Sunday afternoon - please note that I sad "drunks with Harleys" and am not implying all Harley riders are drunks because I know they are not. Well there was this one asshat who kept blipping the gas from a mile off just so he could announce his louder than hell pipes. He kept blipping the gas right until the time he turned it off in the parking lot - he actually blipped it at least 3 times just sitting there waiting for the pillion rider to get off. He must have blipped the gas about 10 times in 10 feet before he turned it off. I would have laughed at the idiot but no one could hear me with all the "O Ring" blipping. Those are the types of Harley riders that tick the entire world off and give all Harley riders a bad image. They are also the ones that make everyone want to rip their pipes off and shove it up their O Ring.

[Gummiente]

Those are the types of Harley riders that tick the entire world off and give all Harley riders a bad image. They are also the ones that make everyone want to rip their pipes off and shove it up their O Ring.

No, seriously, tell us how you really feel about it.

You're absolutely right, IMO. I have a theory that I'm a little hesitant to put forth, as I don't want to offend anyone... but what the hell: "The Louder The Pipes, The Less Mileage On The Odometer". This is based on my own experiences, of course. For example, why don't you hear loud pipes on cool, rainy days? Or late in the Fall and early in the Spring? I think it is because the loud pipes crowd are pretty much fair weather riders.

Ever looked at the odometer on a really loud bike? I have, many times... and either the bike must have been brand new or the odometer is broken because 9 times out of ten the mileage is laughably low.

In other words, loud pipes are for posers. Again, this is just my opinion and I realise there are probably some riders out there with horrifically loud pipes who ride more than I do, but by and large the loud pipes crowd are more show than go.

[MicheleZ]

That theory seems to hold true from what I have seen. Those that ride a lot are not apt to have those loud pipes because it would irritate the hell out of them after all those miles - or make them deaf. I seriously cannot stand the bar hopping riders because they are usually the worst posers of them all - they only go out to "be seen and heard", so I think you are right on the money - and they are not always Harley riders (most are), there is usually a few types of other cruisers scattered around.